# Have you heard of Non-Toxic Nail Polish?



## Darla (Jul 19, 2008)

Naturally Polished

Keep the tips of your fingers and toes beautifully free of toxins.

_By Jo Abbie_

If the words â€œnontoxic nail lacquerâ€ conjure up visions of bland, unfashionable colors, think again. Nail lacquers free of reportedly harmful ingredients are not only being produced by an increasing number of companies, but are on the cutting edge when it comes to the latest trends in nail color. So whether you favor a French manicure or the latest colors from the Paris catwalks, thereâ€™s a bottle of harmlessly stylish polish for you.

With people becoming increasingly concerned about the purity of what they put in and on their bodies, itâ€™s no surprise that many are looking for healthier alternatives when it comes to their mani/pedi routines. If anything, itâ€™s a surprise that it took this long. Some in the industry attribute the increased interest in safer cosmetics to the current wave of eco-consciousness. â€œThe increase in â€˜greenâ€™ started really taking effect last year, after 10 years of trying to educate the public,â€ says Nubar spokesperson Terry Akins. Nubar is a nail polish line created by founder Noubar Abrahamian when he discovered a family member had cancer. â€œNoubar realized that there were harmful ingredients in cosmetics, the worst offender being nail polish, and sought alternative answers,â€ explains Akins.

The three â€œbad guysâ€ in the nail industry, the ingredients that are increasingly being omitted from nail polish formulas, are formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). A plasticizing agent often used in nail lacquer formulas, DBP has been banned for use in cosmetic products in the European Union. According to the Environmental Working Groupâ€™s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database (www.cosmeticsdatabase.com), DBP, toluene and formaldehyde have all been linked to cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity, and toxicity of the immune and nervous systems. All three products are on the California Safe Cosmetics Act list of ingredients that must be disclosed due to their links to cancer and birth defects.

Thankfully, the industry has responded to the publicâ€™s growing concern about these substances, and many quality nail brands are free of all three. While some of these are smaller, boutique beauty brands (such as Nubar, Sparitual, and Rescue Beauty Lounge) even nail giant OPI, which has become the brand ubiquitous to nail salon shelves, removed DBP, toluene and formaldehyde from its products more than a year ago.

While all this talk of toxic ingredients and their potential effects is not a lot of fun, thereâ€™s a lot of merriment amidst the brands that eschew them. At Sparitual, products in their Spring 2008 DBP-Free Color Collection sport sassy names such as Plugged In, Aroused, Epiphany and Paradigm Shift. And the paradigm seems to be shifting industry wide. At OPI, their Spring/Summer â€™08 India Collection features quirkily dubbed shades including MonSooner or Later, Iâ€™m India Mood for Love, and Keys to My Karma.

At Nubar, the color of the season is hot pink, and Geisha Blaze is their best seller. They also have color collections named after everything from wine to flowers. â€œNubar allows you to have all the colors and the fun at the same time,â€ notes Akins. â€œYou no longer have to choose between health and beauty when you are choosing a nail polish.â€

WHERE TO BUY

*Nubar* nail lacquers are available at Nail Polish, Formaldehyde Free, Toluene, Phthalate, French Manicure

*OPI* nail lacquers are used at many local nail salons. For your nearest location, go to Welcome to OPI.com

*Rescue Beauty Lounge* nail lacquers are available at rescue beauty lounge

*Sparitual* nail lacquers are used locally at Preston Wynne spas in Los Gatos and Saratoga, or go to www.sparitual.com 

01 *Sparitual Disco Inferno*, Mindful, Free Bird and Plugged In, $9

02 *Nubar Hot Orange*, $6.99

03 *OPI ElePhantastic Pink*, $8.50

04 *Rescue Beauty Lounge Chinoise Red*, Recycle, Yellow Fever and Purple Haze, $18 each


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## Dragonfly (Jul 19, 2008)

Thanks for posting Darla.

I have all kinds of trouble with nail polish. Whenever I wear it, my nails tend to become softer and break easily.

Maybe I'll try Nubar - the price seems quite reasonable.


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## Ashley (Jul 19, 2008)

Ooh! My favorite brand is on that list. Good to know. Thanks Darla!


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## magosienne (Jul 20, 2008)

bummer, my china glaze stuff contains toluene.


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## Aggie125 (Jan 14, 2009)

Since I'm Polish, I use a lot of Inglot stuff. Inglot's nail polishes are free of toxins and their quality is really very good, I can compare Inglot's quality to OPI.

I've heard that Chanel started producing polishes free of toxins, but the result was weak at the beginning - my friend bought "Blue Satin" which was the first or one of the first nail polishes free of toxins - and she was disappointed. She's already used a lot of Chanel polishes and they lasted on her nails for about a week. And "Blue Satin" - about two days. A couple of other girls (nail polishes' fanatics) confirmed that there was something wrong with BS.


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## Annelle (Jan 14, 2009)

only thing I can think of as non-toxic nail color is when I was a kid, my mom and aunt used to have this paste -- I think it was made from crushed up plants, and put it on my nails and then saran wrap them over night.

The next morning, we'd take off the saran wrap and the nails would be colored. (kind of a semi-permanent dye I guess, instead of nail polish though) The color was there till it pretty much grew out, but I don't think I've had that done since I was like 6 or 7. I would guess that it's natural products, but I have no idea what they actually used, so I guess i don't really know!


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